Deuteronomy 13 opens with a warning: don’t be taken in by prophets or dreamers. Charlatans of all
stripes spell trouble for a faithful nation. But, let us call this scam artist, Abravanel says, by his real
identity; he’s a false prophet, though our verse merely describes him as “a prophet.” However, since the
verse categorizes him no differently than “a dreamer of dreams”, we understand that he is a faker.
“If there arise in your midst a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he
gives you a sign or a wonder…”
Abravanel adds another proof to show that, indeed, our subject is a con, and certainly not who he feigns
to be. “If there arise in your midst” implies that this pretender comes to the Jewish people on his own
volition or initiative. That is, God hadn’t communicated with him, let alone sent him on a mission.
“And the sign or the wonder comes to pass, whereof he spoke unto you saying: Let us go after other
gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them.” God imposes the death penalty: “And that
prophet or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death…”
The subject of the false prophet, Abravanel says, is puzzling. How can it be that “the sign or the wonder
comes to pass?” Finally, Abravanel asks about the whole point of this commandment: “For God your
Almighty puts you to the test, to know whether you do love God Almighty with all your heart and with
all your soul.”
Abravanel learns as follows. "If there arise in your midst a prophet, or dreamer of dreams…” refers to a
phony. While the fellow pawns himself off as a prophet who heard God's speaking to him, he is a sham.
"…Or a dreamer of dreams…" accurately depicts the man. He did not attain full-fledged prophecy, but he
did get some message in his sleep from Above. "And he may present you with a sign or wonder". To
clarify, we are not talking about an earth-shattering sign, a "wow" that mocks nature.
To the point, the Creator does not put nature at a nogoodnik's disposal – to flip the world on its head.
How unconscionable for Him to be party to evildoers! Instead, God revealed to the sleeper future
events. Our man, in turn, discloses to others what he heard in order to validate this exalted title.
For our purposes, "a sign" suggests a low-level event. On the other hand, "a wonder" describes
something that delivers more spunk. Our recipient, perhaps, came to his newfound knowledge through
sophisticated, astrological/astronomical plotting. We also can't rule out that our guy is an accomplished
magician or sorcery. Thus, "And he may present you with a sign or wonder" (read: amateur act) because
he lacked the ability to pull off more than an average stunt.
Let us compare our little guy to true prophets, men of giant stature. Real seers performed acts that
toyed with nature. Thus, the verb used to describe major happenings is not "to give", but rather "to do."
Abravanel brings four Scriptural samples to back his supposition: 1) "See all the wonders I put in your
hand. Do them in Pharoh's presence” (Exodus 4), 2) "And he performed the signs before the people's
eyes” (Exodus 4), 3) "To Him Who alone does great wonders" (Psalms 136), and 4) "Show a wonder for
yourselves" (Exodus 7).
To zoom in on the fourth instance, Pharoh asks Moses for a wondrous display. The king, of course, didn't
want Moses to set into motion plague and pestilence, in practice. Rather, Pharoh requested the prophet
to tell him something that would transpire in the future, or alternatively to reveal a concealed thing.
That sufficed to affirm Moses’ prophetic capabilities.
"You shall not heed the words of this prophet or dreamer of dreams…." It is not enough to turn down
their requests and advances. Jews must refrain from giving them an audience. Given these divine ground
rules, Hebrews should not grow despondent if the charlatan's predictions prove true. Jews should,
however, get their heads around these matters.
Why didn't the Maker intervene and spoil the false prophet's forecast? Why does He allow nature to
obey the rat, resulting in Heaven’s tacit approval? Is it a stumbling block before the blind (read:
spiritually unsophisticated)? These are subjects that will be discussed at length later.
